Bear Track and The Hoffman Estates Boys Club

From our property, the closest campground to us was Driftwood Valley along the Little Manistee River. Most of our trips went to this location. However on one trip with the Hoffman Estates Boys Club, we took a side trip to the next campsite up the river, that being Bear Track. Our excursion just happened to occur just after dusk.

Now, when the boys saw the sign “Bear Track” their fertile imaginations immediately went to work as I didn’t have to add much for our story of the night there huddled around a picnic table. I told them of a nearby cave where a bear was known to dwell. Of course, there were no takers to go to that cave but two of the boys, Alan Cohen and Mark O’Brien got the biggest eyes as my tale progressed. They were both sitting on the grass and when they heard a sound in the bushes near them they leaped into the air only to spot a very small squirrel seemingly amused at their reactions.

Just the name of the site, Bear Track, was enough to unnerve most of the boys and they were most anxious to return to our rented cabin that evening. And, that was the very same trip where the kids saw wolf through that cabin window one evening!